General Motors has decided that certain 2027 Chevrolet Bolt EV, 2025-2026 Cadillac OPTIQ, Chevrolet Colorado, Equinox EV, GMC Canyon, 2026 Buick Enclave, Envision, Cadillac CT5, Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade IQ, Escalade IQL, LYRIQ, VISTIQ, Chevrolet Blazer EV, Corvette Convertible, Corvette Coupe, Corvette Convertible E-Ray, Equinox, Silverado 1500, 2500, 3500, Silverado EV, Suburban 1500, Tahoe, Traverse, GMC Acadia, Hummer EV Pickup, Hummer EV SUV, Sierra 1500, 2500, 3500, Sierra EV, Terrain, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles. The radio may not have been set to the correct status to download the electronic owner's manual during production. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, “Occupant Protection.”
Risk: Without an owner's manual to consult, owners may not know how to safely use and operate the vehicle, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.
The fix and full notice
Fix: Dealers will reset the vehicle radio, which will facilitate automatic download of the electronic owner’s manual, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 16, 2026. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-866-467-9700, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-333-4223. The manufacturer's number for this recall is N252540430. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on February 26, 2026.
NHTSA listing: TERRAIN. GMC campaign N252540430.
Questions about any of these recalls: call NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 (TTY 888-275-9171) or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
What owners report
Owners have filed 33 complaints with NHTSA about the 2026 Terrain. Below, they are sorted by the problems owners describe and by the areas NHTSA files them under. NHTSA does not verify complaints.
Problems owners describe
Shaking, shuddering or vibration6 · 18%
Counted from the complaint text: a complaint counts once for each problem it describes (how we match them). Some complaints describe none of these.
Areas named in complaints
Forward collision avoidance6 · 18%
Most named: automatic emergency braking (6); warnings (3)
Electrical system5 · 15%
Powertrain5 · 15%
Suspension5 · 15%
Brakes4 · 12%
Wheels4 · 12%
Steering3 · 9%
Unknown or other9 · 27%
A complaint can name more than one area, so shares add up to more than 100%.
GMC Terrain recalls and complaints by model year
The highlighted bars are the 2026 model year. Newer model years have had less time on the road, so their counts are lower. Counting complaints filed in each model year's first three years, the 2018 Terrain drew the most (65).
Owner complaints
2026: 33 complaintsTap or drag across the chart for other years.
Show as a table
Owner complaints by model year, GMC Terrain
Model year
Complaints
2016
152
2017
133
2018
220
2019
185
2020
196
2021
35
2022
88
2023
39
2024
49
2025
13
2026
33
Safety recalls
2026: 1 recallTap or drag across the chart for other years.
Show as a table
Safety recalls by model year, GMC Terrain
Model year
Recalls
2016
2
2017
1
2018
5
2019
3
2020
2
2021
2
2022
4
2023
2
2024
1
2025
0
2026
1
Crash test ratings
NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings for each version it tested. Rollover risk is NHTSA's estimate of the chance of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.
Tested version
Overall
Frontal
Side
Rollover
GMC TERRAIN SUV N/A AWD
Rollover risk 17.4%
Not rated
Not rated
GMC TERRAIN SUV N/A FWD
Rollover risk 18.5%
Not rated
Not rated
Questions
What are the most common 2026 Terrain problems?
In the 33 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2026 GMC Terrain, the problems described most are shaking, shuddering or vibration (6). NHTSA does not verify complaints, and one complaint can describe several problems.
How do I check if my Terrain has an open recall?
Enter the 17-character VIN from your dashboard, door jamb or registration at nhtsa.gov/recalls. The lookup lists unrepaired recalls for that exact vehicle. Safety recall repairs are free at GMC dealers.
Sources and method
NHTSA recalls file (NHTSA datasets), dated Sep 29, 2026; every campaign checked against NHTSA's recalls API.
NHTSA owner complaints file, dated Sep 28, 2026. Counted by complaint number, so a complaint naming three components counts once in the total.
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings (NCAP).
NHTSA model names covered: TERRAIN.
Complaint counts are unverified owner reports. They rise with sales volume and time on the road, so compare model years with care. How we build these pages. Spotted an error? Tell us.